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QF 1: 2017 U SPORTS ArcelorMittal Dofasco Women's Final 8

March 9, 2017

VICTORIA (U SPORTS) – The No. 6 seeded Cape Breton Capers gave the No. 3 Queen's Gaels a scare to open up the U SPORTS Women's Basketball Final 8 on Wednesday afternoon but the Gaels prevailed, pulling ahead in the fourth quarter on their way to a 60-51 quarter-final victory at the CARSA Performance Gym.

Marianne Alarie (Sudbury, ON) led the Gaels with 14 points to with three rebounds and an assist, while teammate Andrea Priamo (Guelph, ON) chimed in with 10 points and six rebounds. Robyn Pearson (Toronto, ON) and Abby Dixon (North Vancouver, BC) each had 10 rebounds for Queen's.

Alarie was named the Player of the Game for the Gaels.

Cape Breton was led by Colleen Keane (Scarborough, ON) with 15 points, 12 of which came in the first half alone. Alison Keough (Marion Bridge, NS) added 12 points and a team-high nine rebounds while Valentina Primossi (Trieste, IT) had five rebounds and five points.

"We followed the game plan pretty well—we took some things away from them," said Capers head coach Fabian McKenzie. "They adjusted later on but I think in the first half we were pretty good."

For her efforts, Keane was named the Player of the Game. The award, and the performance that earned it, didn't surprise her coach.

"She's pretty solid for us," said McKenzie. "She is our leader—wherever she goes we go. She's the heart and soul of our group."

The Capers jumped out to an 11-point lead after the first quarter only to see the Gaels chip away at the deficit. Queen's knocked down 15 points in the second quarter and 17 in the third to send the game to fourth quarter with the Capers leading by just four.

"I think our team came out pretty strong in the beginning and then towards the end we lost our steam," said Keane. "It's our first time here so it's just a learning experience overall."

For their part, the Capers hit 41.3% percent of their shots from the field and 20% from three-point range.

The Gaels will play again on Saturday, when they'll meet the winner of Wednesday's second quarter-final between Saskatchewan and Laval. Cape Breton will meet the loser of that game for a 10:00 p.m. AST match-up on Friday night.